NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway (UDSB) non-profit organization awarded $17,900 for community projects in 2024 through its four competitive grant programs and event sponsorships.
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NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway (UDSB) non-profit organization awarded $17,900 for community projects in 2024 through its four competitive grant programs and event sponsorships.
Vista Enhancement Along the Byway grants are offered to improve New York State Route 97 travelers’ views of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and the byway corridor. Eligible public or private properties for selective clearing work must be located along the designated portions of the byway.
On January 22, the board finalized an $8,200 payment for three vista grant projects completed in the Town of Delaware:
1) to thin out trees on Central New York Railroad property for Viaduct vista improvement for $2,000;
2) to extend the riverside view at a prior work site located across from the Rt. 97 intersection with Starck Lane between mile markers 1396 and 1398 through selective vegetative clearing for $2,200; and
3) to open up the view of the Delaware River heading north on Rt. 97 across the Viaduct into Callicoon by removing or reducing the height of some trees and limbs along the lower part of Viaduct Road and the railroad embankment, and along the Callicoon Creek on bordering properties of the Delaware Youth Center and Sullivan County Democrat office for $4,000.
UDSB board member Rosie DeCristofaro coordinated obtaining quotes, property owner permission releases, scheduling, and oversight of the work all performed by contractor Mootz Tree Trimming LLC of Callicoon.
Three Promoting Butterflies on the Byway grants, available for habitat promotion efforts, pollinator gardens planting and similar projects, were approved in a total amount of $3,000 on:
March 25 - $500 to the Tusten Heritage Community Garden and Monarch Way Station site located on DeMauro Lane in Narrowsburg for native, pollinator-friendly plants, soil supplementation, Mugwort remediation, and materials for a botanical dyeing workshop.
May 20 - $1,000 to the Tusten Heritage Community Garden non-profit organization for a Phase II project to host four pollinator educational workshops in June, July, August, and September 2024, and to purchase supplies and materials to support an intergenerational garden maintenance partnership with the Delaware Valley Job Corps Center providing $1,800 worth of donated labor.
Aug. 26 - $1,500 to the Callicoon Business Association and the Callicoon Depot Inc. to restore the garden at the NYS Rt. 97 “Welcome to the Town of Delaware” sign by rebuilding the beds, adding timed solar lights, and creating a “Flyway on the Byway” Pollinator Rest Stop; and to add pollinator-friendly perennials to the outside planters located at the historic Callicoon Depot site.
The UDSB awarded a total of $5,700 through four Culture and History Along the Byway grants, which are offered for projects that highlight the NYS Rt. 97 byway’s heritage and promote cultural events, on:
April 22 - $1,200 to The Delaware Company, Inc. to help sponsor the August 31 Revolutionary War History at Play program at Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History in Narrowsburg on “The American Heroine Deborah Sampson” presented by Artistic Director Judith Kalaora.
July 22 - $500 to TriVersity Pride Center to help sponsor the July 27 “Paddle for Pride” river trip from Barryville to Matamoras with conservation stewardship programming about the special qualities of the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway and the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, including offering scholarships for inclusive participation.
Aug. 26 - $3,000 to the Greater Barryville Chamber of Commerce to support the September 21 Pollinator Festival Butterfly Ball held in collaboration with the 10th Annual Honeybee Festival at Fort Delaware in Narrowsburg, including entertainment services, décor, advertising, and materials to make clay seed balls that were tossed to create new pollinator habitat during the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway’s October 20 Butterfly Bike Ride & Walk in the Town of Cochecton.
Sept. 23 - $1,000 to the Barryville Farmers’ Market to support the 3rd Annual Halloween & Harvest Festival held on October 26 at the United Methodist Church grounds in partnership with the Greater Barryville Chamber of Commerce, with expenses for the Nowhere Slow band, signage, candy for trick-or-treating kids, decorations, and promotion.
No Signage Along the Byway grants were approved in 2024. This program offers up to $500 in matching funds to businesses and non-profit groups to develop local ordinance-compliant new signage or replace deteriorated signs to promote byway attractions along or near Route 97.
The UDSB Committee accepts grant applications on a rolling basis year-round to review at their regular 4th Monday of the month meetings. To request guidelines and application forms, record a message on the 866-511-UDSB (8372) hotline or email info@UDSB.net.
Additionally, UDSB, Inc. provided $500 sponsorships each for the 4th Annual Upper Delaware Litter Sweep in April and a Scaled-Back Shadfest held on May 18.
The Litter Sweep is a series of land-based, volunteer-powered trash pick-ups that the Upper Delaware Council coordinates along both sides of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River in NY and PA by handling fundraising, supplies purchase and distribution, publicity, unique team t-shirts, permits, and disposal tips.
Shadfest
The May 18th Shadfest coordinated by Town of Highland Supervisor John Pizzolato attracted over 450 people to the Barryville Farmers’ Market for fish-themed activities and shad tastings prepared by Sullivan County BOCES Culinary Arts Chef Michael Abato and students by day, followed by a Shad Shindig dinner and After-Party at River’s Edge in Barryville by night.
The Shindig celebrated the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. winning the 2024 National Scenic Byway Foundation Partnership Award for the prior year’s Festival of the Founding Fish & UDSB 20th Anniversary narrated bus tour with stops from Port Jervis to Hancock roundtrip, while presenting awards to retiring NYS Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, Shadfest founder Debra Conway of The Delaware Company, and Chef Annika Sandvik from Nordic Preserves.
Grants awarded to UDSB, Inc. in 2024 were $40,000 through the Sullivan County Legislature’s Discretionary Funds Contracts approved for UDSB administrative services in a June 20 resolution, with payment received on Sept. 3; and a New York State Legislative Grant secured by NYS Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (100thDistrict) and administered by the NYS Office of Family and Children Services for $24,500 received on Sept. 25 to provide partial reimbursement for a six-month UDSB Program Manager independent contract completed in 2023.
Seven of the eight local UDSB municipalities – the Towns of Deerpark, Lumberland, Delaware, Tusten, Cochecton, Highland, and the City of Port Jervis – contributed a collective $6,500 through member support donations in 2024.
The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, which was legislatively added to the New York State Scenic Byways System in 2002, receives no state funding to operate.
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